For the girl's complaints, the straw hat boy and the green-haired boy clearly didn't listen.
During this time, they had become accustomed to the girl's various grumbles.
The two lowered their heads, exchanged a look, and then unhesitatingly ran forward quickly.
"One was shouting 'meat'."
"One was shouting 'sake'."
Watching the two figures disappear rapidly, the orange-haired girl stopped in her tracks, her expression quickly replaced by fury. She suddenly accelerated, as if she had used "Soru," instantly closing the distance and appearing between the two. Then, without hesitation, her fists pounded heavily on both their heads.
With two "thuds," both men bent over simultaneously, two large lumps appearing on their heads.
"What are you running for? Annoyed?"
At this moment, the girl was like a man-eating demon, her eyes flashing red, looking down at the two.
"Nami, I'm hungry."
The straw hat boy looked up at the girl pitifully, hoping she would let him go and let him go back to eat meat.
As he spoke, his stomach obligingly let out two growls.
"You..."
Meeting the boy's pitiful gaze, Nami's face showed a hint of struggle.
"Haha!! It's really lively!"
Just then, a light laugh broke the tacit understanding of the three's playful banter.
"Who?"
The green-haired boy and the straw hat boy, who had just been squatting on the ground looking pitiful, reacted instantly.
They quickly got up, darted out from behind the girl, one on each side. The green-haired boy gripped his sword tightly, while the straw hat girl clenched her fist. The two tacitly shielded the girl behind them, then simultaneously looked up, scanning the treetops ahead.
Young, handsome, this was Luffy's first impression of the silver-haired boy. Furthermore, the moment the silver-haired boy appeared, his body seemed to have received some kind of stimulation, and a feeling he had never experienced before instantly occupied his heart.
He vaguely sensed a presence from the silver-haired boy that he had never sensed before, a presence that made all things seem to tremble.
Therefore, Luffy, usually thick-skinned, showed a rare look of solemnity at this moment. "Zoro, you take Nami and leave first later, I'll cover the rear."
The moment he saw the boy, he clearly felt the gap between him and the boy, like that between heaven and earth. This was not a visible chasm, but an unbridgeable abyss.
He had never felt such a gap, even from his grandfather.
"Is this the ability to hear all things?"
Kouta curiously sized up the straw hat boy.
At this moment, his spatial domain was essentially no longer a matter of being open or closed, so as soon as he appeared, this space was naturally influenced by his aura and changed.
This change was difficult for ordinary people to discover, no, it was impossible to discover, because it was a natural change.
However, Luffy could sense his difference the moment he appeared, which was a bit interesting.
As far as Kouta knew, there were strictly only three people in this world who possessed the ability to hear the voices of all things: Roger, Oden Kozuki, and Luffy.
As for Momonosuke, since he could only communicate with Zunesha, it was not yet certain if he possessed the ability to hear all things.
Just like Shirahoshi could communicate with sea kings.
If it's not the ability to hear all things, then it's just a special ability.
"Kouta..."
Zoro looked at the silver-haired boy standing on the treetop, and his tense body instantly relaxed. Thinking it was an illusion, he even let go of his sword hilt and rubbed his eyes with his hand.
Only when he saw clearly that it was indeed Kouta again did he exclaim loudly, "Aren't you in the Grand Line? When did you come back?"
"Hehe!! It's been a year since I saw you, and you've grown taller."
At some point, the boy on the treetop silently disappeared from everyone's sight, as if it were meant to be, and appeared directly beside Zoro.
Kouta patted Zoro's head, a smile on his face, as if looking at a subordinate.
"Don't pat my head."
A blush flashed across Zoro's face, then he slapped Kouta's hand away and looked at Kouta speechlessly, "Where are Kuina and the others?"
Zoro was very familiar with Kouta's abilities, so he didn't react much. However, it was different for the straw hat boy standing next to him.
The moment Kouta disappeared from the treetop and appeared beside Zoro, he instinctively took a step back. Although the solemnity on his face had subsided, the trembling from his life instincts still kept him on guard.
The more sensitive a person's perception, the more they could understand the terror and greatness of this silver-haired boy.
If Luffy were an ordinary person, he wouldn't have this reaction, but he had a special ability and was the chosen one of this world!
Moreover, Kouta, with a mischievous streak, had not deliberately restrained his aura since his appearance.
"They are in the Windmill Village below. We are returning to the Isshin Dojo. I sensed you when we passed by here, so I came to take a look."
"Haha!! I didn't expect to see such an interesting scene."
As he said this, Kouta glanced at Nami and Luffy and, feigning ignorance, asked Zoro, "Are these the nakama you found? Aren't you going to introduce them to me?"
Zoro pouted. Of course, he could feel the teasing in Kouta's gaze.
But he didn't care at all, as he was already used to it.
Turning around, Zoro pulled Luffy to his side, placed a heavy hand on Luffy's shoulder, and introduced, "Don't be nervous. This is Luffy, a, um!"
He thought for a moment before saying, "An interesting guy."
Then he pointed at Kouta and laughed, "This guy is the strongest in the world right now, Silver-haired Kouta, and he's also my senior brother. We both came from my hometown, the Isshin Dojo. Don't think he's just gentle because he looks that way; he's actually a very mischievous guy."
"Hey! I'm still here!"
Kouta glanced at Zoro, pulled out the Shusui he had prepared for Zoro from his pocket, stroked the blade, and said casually, "I originally came here to give you this one-of-a-kind black blade, one of only two in the world. But since you're talking about me like that, I think I'll just forget it!"
"Forget what?"
The moment Shusui appeared, Zoro's gaze never left the blade. His eyes were so fervent that they seemed to melt everything.
Hearing Kouta say this, Zoro quickly let go of Luffy, strode forward, snatched Shusui from Kouta's hand, and hugged it tightly.
Then, ignoring everyone around him, he took two steps back and suddenly drew Shusui from its scabbard.
Zing—!
A flash of black blade light, accompanied by the metallic tremor of the blade rubbing against the scabbard, flickered and vanished. A deep gash appeared on the ground.
"A good sword, a good sword..."
Holding Shusui above his head, under the sunlight filtering through the trees, Zoro gazed at the black, light-devouring blade, his eyes filled with joy.
"It's really a black blade, it's really Shusui."
Zoro in this world was not as ignorant as in the original work. With Kouta's existence, Zoro had known about the grading of swords and the prototype of "Zankou," Shusui, from a very young age.
He never expected to possess Shusui one day.
This made him feel like he was dreaming at this moment.
After all, this was one of the only two known black blades in the world!